Emmanuel Vanbrussel

Candriam is lowering the ESG bar for two major funds. This is intended to make investments in “selected defense companies” possible.

Political nervousness is rising over the potential victory of the far right in the French presidential elections of April 2027, as that could lead to less European integration. But the Investment Centre at ING Belgium currently sees no reason to adjust its investment policy.

Rising budget deficits have caused government bonds to lose much of their appeal as a safe haven for investors. High-quality corporate bonds have subsequently moved up the ranks. Has the rally run its course? Samuel Gruen, fixed income specialist at Rothschild & Co Asset Management, examined the European market from a historical perspective.

In the new multipolar world order, globalization is a thing of the past. Yet Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo, still advises investors to allocate capital across continents. She recently flew in from Singapore for a European roadshow with investors.

AXA Investment Managers is shutting down its fund focused on biodiversity due to a lack of investor interest. “We continue to believe in the theme, but from now on within a broader context,” the explanation said.

French banking group Crédit Agricole has announced the launch of a new corporate finance boutique in its home market. Crédit Agricole Midcap Advisors and Degroof Petercam Finance France are being merged into Indosuez Corporate Advisory, a team of around 80 professionals.

Are bonds issued by well-known champion companies as safe as government debt? More and more investors seem to think so, judging by the small yield differentials between, for example, Microsoft and US government paper or between AXA and French government bonds.

Assets managed through discretionary mandates have expanded more slowly in Europa over the past ten years than assets held in investment funds. That is the conclusion of Efama, the European fund industry association, in its latest sector review.

Many fund houses mark Liberation Day—the day president Trump announced sharply higher US trade tariffs—as the standout moment of 2025, according to the Investment Officer Outlook Survey 2026. But what surprised asset managers even more was how quickly markets carried on in the months that followed, as if nothing had happened.

Fund house Amundi presented its strategic three-year plan on Tuesday. It includes a new business line focused on active ETFs and white-label ETFs.